Five-Year Prison Sentence for Yoon
Defense: "Unacceptable... Immediate Appeal"
Former President Yoon Seok-yeol was sentenced to five years in prison in the first trial on charges including obstructing the arrest by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). The Special Prosecutor for the Insurrection Case announced its intention to analyze the verdict to review grounds for acquittal, while former President Yoon's side expressed its intention to appeal.
Former President Yoon Seok-yeol attended the first trial sentencing hearing on the 16th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, regarding charges including obstruction of official duties, aiding a fugitive, and abuse of authority to interfere with the exercise of rights, and sat in the defendant's seat. Former President Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison that day. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 16th, the Special Prosecutor for the Insurrection Case stated, "The special prosecutor will conduct a thorough review of the court's sentencing and the grounds for partial acquittal by analyzing the verdict related to today's sentencing of former President Yoon."
The 35th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Baek Daehyun) sentenced former President Yoon, who was indicted and detained on charges including obstruction of official duties and abuse of authority to interfere with the exercise of rights, to five years in prison. The court found former President Yoon guilty of most charges, including abuse of authority to interfere with the exercise of rights, obstruction of official duties, and falsification of official documents. However, he was acquitted of charges such as instructing the dissemination of a press guidance (PG) containing false information that "there was no intention to undermine the constitutional order" to foreign media.
The court stated, "During the investigation, the defendant used security office officials to block the lawful execution of warrants against himself or attempted to destroy evidence," and criticized, "For his own safety and private interests, he effectively turned security office officials, who are loyal to the Republic of Korea, into his personal aides."
However, the court also noted, "In the case of the falsification of official documents and related crimes, it is difficult to see that he actively led the offenses, and the fact that he has no prior criminal record and this is his first offense was considered as a favorable factor."
Former President Yoon's side immediately announced their intention to appeal. Right after the sentencing, former President Yoon told reporters, "This ruling excessively simplifies the boundary between the exercise of the president's constitutional authority and criminal liability."
The defense team stated, "Before being an individual, Yoon Seok-yeol was the head of state, and holding him criminally liable while disregarding his status, responsibilities, and the constitutional particularities of the presidency cannot be considered the fulfillment of the rule of law." They added, "If this logic is maintained, no future president will be able to make decisions in times of crisis, and any act of governance could later be reinterpreted as a crime."
The defense also argued, "Rather than judging the facts, the court accepted all of the special prosecutor's unilateral claims," and said, "This is a ruling that ignored all the evidence presented during the trial, making it unacceptable."
The defense further claimed that the court's sentencing of this case before the verdict for former President Yoon's alleged leadership in the insurrection case infringed upon the defense's right to a fair trial.
The defense team also stated that the appeal trial will be handled by the Seoul High Court's division specializing in insurrection cases, and added, "If we determine that the insurrection division is seriously unconstitutional, we will have to seriously consider whether to appear in court."
The defense team plans to submit the appeal brief by early to mid-next week. The appeal period is seven days.
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